My Girl
by VeraRose19
Summary: Her heart broke for Nicky and the obvious estrangement that existed between the beautiful girl and her mother. She didn't understand how her father could just walk away, or how a mother could be so out of touch with how her own child was feeling. Although she had only just met her, Galina wanted nothing more than to see Nicky happy.


Nicky Nichols walked alone down the darkened street lit only by street lamps. Her sneakers squished against the wet sidewalk as she trekked through the puddles with indifference to the way her toes were growing numb from the cold. She had nothing on over the cotton shirt that she had planned to sleep in. The fabric stuck uncomfortably to her skin but she still persisted in tugging the sleeves down as far over her hands as they would go. If she had been thinking, she would have grabbed a jacket, and an umbrella too. Only Nicky hadn't been thinking clearly at all. Running outside and down the street when she should have been safe and warm in bed had been motivated by one goal above all else: get as far away from her house as possible.

"_They probably don't even notice that I've left," _Nicky thought bitterly to herself.

She was supposed to be upstairs in her room. Doing what, it never seemed to matter much to her mother so long as she kept out of sight. Marka sent Nicky to bed early the same time every night and it never seemed to cross her mind, that a fourteen year old didn't really need to be asleep at eight o'clock. Nicky had her own television, a full shelf of books, and her own computer to connect with anybody in the outside world she felt like looking up. She knew that Marka knew she was awake, often until well past midnight, because she never made any effort to be quiet. It just confirmed to Nicky what she'd learned long ago: that Marka made all her parenting decisions with her own convenience in mind. The nanny clocked out at six, and sitting down for a dinner and then a couple hours of "quality time" were all that Marka was willing to give her.

"Mama, we need to do this more often!" A dark haired boy who looked to be a little bit younger than her, caught Nicky's attention from across the street.

He was standing protectively under a black umbrella held by a woman with long red hair. Two other boys were standing behind them, with their hands shoved into their coat pockets and their hoods drawn up to protect from the persistent rain. They were all chatting together as they walked up to the door of a fast food restaurant. Nicky watched the mother close the umbrella and usher the three boys into the building ahead of herself.

Intrigued, for reasons that escaped her right now, Nicky stuck her hand into the pocket of her damp jeans and felt around for some change. Her fingers clasped around some coins; enough to at least buy a soda and get out of the cold and rain for a bit. She knew she couldn't stay outside forever. Eventually, even Marka might notice if she just never went home.

Nicky walked quickly across the street as soon as the traffic was cleared and into the brightly lit and heavenly warmth. The air smelled intoxicatingly good with the smells of fried chicken and greasy french fries, making Nicky's stomach grumble from hunger. She had refused to have a bite of dinner at home that evening on principle. Now she was starving.

She pulled her change out of her pocket and held it flat in her hand. Nimbly she began to count out quarters and dimes. She had enough for a small fry, if she didn't have a drink. Which was good enough for her right now. Clenching her fist around her money, she walked up to stand behind the red haired woman and her three sons, who were waiting in line.

"Twice a week?" the dark haired boy was pleading, holding two fingers up in front of his mother's face.

"You're lucky to be here right now," his mother scoffed, swatting his hand down, "but I couldn't do another thing tonight."

"You work too hard," the tallest of the boys said, grinning mischievously. "We won't think you're less of a mom if we have fast food for dinner."

"Maybe one night a week," the youngest boy held up a single finger to his mother.

"Tell the lady what you want," his mother shooed him ahead with her hand, once their turn came up. As her boys filed obediently ahead to give their orders, she reached into the purse slung over her shoulder, for her wallet. She pulled out some money and didn't notice the wallet tip out of her purse as she stepped over to the cashier to pay.

"A coffee with two cream please," Nicky heard her say. She sighed and then added begrudgingly. "And a cheeseburger."

"It won't kill you, Ma," the tallest boy said.

"Why don't you all go find a seat," she instructed, as she passed her money to the cashier.

"Excuse me," Nicky said. She had reached down to pick the woman's wallet off the floor, but the woman was busy watching her sons walk over to a booth near the window and didn't hear her. "Ma'am?" Nicky tapped her on the shoulder.

"Huh!" the woman startled at the unexpected touch. She turned her head around with raised eyebrows, but her face softened when she saw Nicky standing there.

"You dropped this," Nicky explained unnecessarily.

"Thank you, honey," she smiled, taking her wallet back. Nicky nodded and stepped over to the counter where the cashier was working.

"Can I have a small fry?" Nicky asked. She set her handful of change down on the counter, and began to count out the coins she would need to pay. She had just enough.

"Is that all you're having?" the woman leaned against the counter as she looked Nicky over, and she opened the clasp on her wallet. "Don't you want a meal? Or at least a drink? I'll get it…"

Nicky blushed. Did the woman think she was a street kid starving for a real meal? She knew she looked like a mess right now, but she was from an elite neighbourhood, and even if her clothes were soaking wet right now, they were designer labels. Which was more than Nicky could say for this woman's well-worn blue raincoat and the shoes on her feet that looked to be obviously second hand.

"You don't have to…" Nicky stammered. "I've got lots of money at home."

"That's nice, dear," the woman said faintly. "But you're not at home, and I'd like to treat you. Most people who found a wallet would have raced out the door, not returned it. Consider it a thank you."

Nicky gave her a small smile and an agreeable nod of the head.

"What would you like?" the woman smiled back. "A cheeseburger?"

Nicky shook her head. "Can I have chicken nuggets?" she asked.

"Of course," the woman replied. She nodded her head at the cashier who had been patiently waiting during this exchange. "And to drink?"

"Cherry soda," Nicky answered promptly.

The woman paid for her meal and waited for Nicky, even after her own food was brought out on a tray. Once Nicky's own food arrived on its own tray, the woman pointed in the direction of her sons. "Would you like to sit with us?" she asked.

"Sure," Nicky shrugged.

"My name's Galina," she introduced herself as they walked over to the table. "And this is Yuri, Maxim, and Vasily."

"Hi," Nicky said to them. They all said hi back as though there was nothing strange about her being there. As if they were used to their mother bringing around strays.

"I'm Nicky," she added, as she set her tray down on the table and took a seat away from the three brothers.

"Hi," Yuri said kindly. He looked the most like his mother with his red hair and blue eyes. "You don't go to Clarkson High, do you?"

"No," Nicky said, nervously nibbling on a french fry. "I'm in eighth grade."

"I'm in seventh," Vasily said, "but I've never seen you at school before."

"I go to a private school," Nicky muttered. "It's not that close to here. You probably haven't heard of it."

Galina frowned. "Then what are you doing all the way over here on your own?" she asked.

"Walking," Nicky said vaguely, with a helpless shrug as she hoped that the subject would be dropped. She ate a chicken nugget and then washed it down with a sip of soda.

"I'll take you back," was all that Galina said.

"You don't have to-" Nicky tried to say, but she was cut off.

"You'll catch your death out there in the rain tonight," Galina said. "Not to mention that it isn't safe for a young girl to be out alone this late. Do your parents know where you are?"

Nicky popped another chicken nugget into her mouth so that she wouldn't have to answer. Galina sighed. Reaching into her purse she pulled out a cell phone and slid it across the table to Nicky. "Would you like to call them to tell them you're safe?"

Nicky shook her head and then slid the phone right back to her.

"They don't care," she explained, once she had swallowed the food in her mouth.

Galina gave her a pained sort of look and did not pursue the subject. She talked about other things to her sons, while Nicky silently ate her food. When Nicky threw out her garbage and tried to leave, Galina stopped her.

"Let's get to the bottom of this," was all she said, and though Nicky didn't know why she was allowing this stranger to boss her around, she obediently sat back down at the table beside her. If she tried to run away, Galina might call the police about her and she knew now that her name was Nicky.

"_Maybe you aren't as street savy as you think_," Nicky thought to herself. She should have used a fake name. Not that it would matter. She always knew she would need to go home eventually.

Once everyone was done eating, they walked towards the door together. Nicky was embarrassed, but didn't object, when Galina took off her own jacket and draped it over Nicky's shoulders.

"We live just down the street," Galina explained. Once they were outside, she opened up the umbrella again and Nicky walked close to her underneath it.

"Is Nicky going to stay at our house?" Maxim asked. It was the first words that Nicky had heard him say all evening. Most of the conversation was carried by his two brothers.

"No, honey," Galina shook her head. "I'm going to get the car and drive Nicky home. It will be too hard to find a taxi on a night like this."

They crossed the road at the intersection and walked around the corner to a commercial street. They stopped in front of a building with a sign that read _"Dmitri's Russian Market"_.

"I think I've eaten here before," Nicky spoke up. "With my nanny…"

"Really?" Galina smiled. "I must have seen you but didn't realize at the time. Dmitri is my husband."

She unlocked the door that opened to a flight of stairs. They must live above the store. Galina didn't invite Nicky inside, but held the door open for her three sons and gave them instructions to tell Papa she would be back later. Then she took her key out of the door and searched on her chain for another one.

"My car is parked behind the building," she explained. She was still holding the umbrella for her, and together they walked around the block.

"I didn't want to ask too many questions in front of my boys, to put you on the spot," Galina explained. "But you understand that I could never leave a fourteen year old all alone at night, looking like a drowned alpaca."

"Yeah," Nicky frowned, tugging on a limp curl.

"Can you give me a reason why I shouldn't drive you home?" Galina asked. "Are you not safe there?"

Nicky hesitated. She was worried for all the kindness Galina had so far shown her, that she was going to walk away with the impression that she had just befriended a spoiled little brat. Nicky knew that there were kids who ran away because their parents beat them, or did drugs, or for sexual abuse. Telling this woman that her parents divorced a couple of years ago, and she is still sad about it, just made Nicky feel pathetic.

"I just don't want to be there," she said finally.

They had reached the car. Galina led her over to the passenger side, and kept the umbrella held over Nicky as she unlocked the door. Nicky reluctantly climbed inside and then watched Galina get in the driver's side and turn the car on.

"I'm sorry for that," Galina said quietly, as she shifted the car into reverse so that she could back onto the road. "But I can't keep you...your mother is probably looking for you."

"She probably doesn't even know I left," Nicky rolled her eyes, as she mimicked Galina in fastening her seatbelt. She was still wearing her jacket, and she found its warmth soothing.

"Well, let's just go and see," Galina murmured. She drove slowly down the street, with the windshield wipers swishing quickly against the window. The heat was turned on in the car, for which Nicky was thankful. She leaned her head back against the seat and watched as they passed _Dmitri's Russian Market_ and observed the light in the upstairs apartment.

"You need to tell me where we're going," Galina reminded her, as they approached a street light. "Left or right?"

"Right," Nicky sighed. She watched Galina nervously make the turn and was glad that the road weren't busy at this hour.

"I don't drive the city generally," Galina explained, with a knowing smile, sensing Nicky's apprehension. "About once a year, we take the kids camping or to go somewhere new, and my husband thinks that warrants having a car all the time."

"I've done a lot of travelling," Nicky shared. "But I've never been really camping. You couldn't pay my mom to sleep in a tent on the hard ground, which is surprising, because she would do almost anything for money."

"What about your father?" Galina asked.

"What about him?" Nicky asked. She pointed her finger at a nearing streetlight. "Take this left."

"Do you have one?" Galina asked. "Are you close?"

"We don't really talk," Nicky replied. She wanted to be more guarded in her secrets and pain, but this woman had a way about her that made Nicky just want to open up. She could sense that Galina actually cared about what she had to say.

"My parents divorced a couple years ago," she explained. "My mom just got engaged to her boyfriend. They told me at dinner."

"And that obviously upset you," Galina said. "I'm sorry...do you just not like him?"

"I hate him," Nicky said bluntly.

Galina didn't suggest that Nicky was just jealous her mother had a new boyfriend or that she was acting out because of the divorce. She didn't tell Nicky that she would get used to it or that her mother deserved to be happy, so Nicky had to learn to deal with it. Instead, she reached out a hand and placed in on Nicky's shoulder, and gave her a comforting squeeze.

"Have you told your mother how you feel?" she asked.

"I've tried," Nicky admitted. "But it's in one ear and out the other. She doesn't care how I feel. I'd go live with my Dad, but he doesn't want me."

"I can't imagine that," Galina shook her head. "I just met you and I already know I'd want you. You have a light about you, Nicky. You're a very special girl. Don't let anyone ever make you feel otherwise."

Nicky rested her hand overtop the hand still squeezing her shoulder. She was touched that anyone could say such nice things about her. Usually any feedback she received from her parents was negative, because it always took acting out badly enough for them to pay attention to her. Until she went too far, like at her Bat Mitzvah almost a year ago. Her father hadn't reached out to her since. He never picked her up on his weekends, and for Christmas he had mailed her a 100 dollar cheque with no card or phone call. He'd abandoned her, the same way he had abandoned her mother.

A few more turns and they reached Nicky's neighbourhood. Galina drove slowly past the extravagant townhouses that made up this strip. Nicky gave her the house number and then leaned back in her seat feeling depressed.

"Is that your mother?"

"Huh?" Nicky sat up straighter and stared out the window. Standing on the sidewalk in just her housecoat and a pair of slippers, was Marka. She was talking into her phone and looked upset. She had a blue umbrella over her head. The look on Nicky's incredulous face, told Galina that her suspicions had been correct. She pulled the car up to the curb in front of the distressed looking woman.

"Nicky!" Marka exclaimed, as Nicky stepped out of the cab.

"I'll call you back. She's here," Marka snapped into the phone. She hung up her cell and shoved it into the pocket of her housecoat. "Where on earth have you been?"

Galina switched off the car and then stepped onto the sidewalk herself. She noted the bewildered and hostile look Marka shot her, and understood it because she would have been horrified for one of her children to come home in a stranger's car. Galina had been the one to find Nicky, but she could have been any adult with much more sinister intentions. She hoped this would be a wake-up call to Marka, to pay more attention to where her daughter is before it's too late.

"I'm Galina Reznikov," she introduced herself, walking over to stand beside Nicky. "Me and my sons ran into Nicky at a McDonald's getting a bite to eat, so I offered her a ride home."

"You shouldn't have done that," Marka said uncomfortably. "Nicky has a cell phone and she should have called me for a ride. She should not have been getting into cars with strangers. She should not have been sneaking out of the house at all."

Her voice broke on the last syllable and tears brimming in her eyes. She brought her hand up to briefly cover her face and then turned to Nicky. "You know better," she said coldly. "Do you realize how lucky you are that nothing bad happened to you?"

"Like you'd care if there was," Nicky snapped, crossing her arms over her chest.

"You think I don't care about you?" Marka asked in bewilderment. "I've been walking around the neighbourhood for nearly an hour looking for you. Paolo is in a taxi searching. Christ, I even called your father to see if he knew anything and had to listen to him make all his snide remarks about what a poor excuse for a mother I am. I was about to phone the police!"

"Well, now you don't have to," Nicky said awkwardly. "Cause I'm here."

"Why didn't you answer your cell phone?" Marka demanded. "I must have called it about a hundred times!"

"I turned it off," Nicky replied.

"Honestly," Marka huffed.

Galina watched this exchange between mother and daughter like a tennis match that she was intruding upon. She placed a supportive hand once again on Nicky's shoulder and looked straight at Marka, who was wrangling her hands together and looked like she couldn't decide whether she wanted to cry or strangle her daughter.

"The important thing is she is safe," Galina reminded her. "And it's late. Maybe a hot bath and a good sleep, and the rest can wait until tomorrow."

"Yes," Marka nodded her agreement. She reached into the pocket of her housecoat. "I've got to phone my fiance."

"Will I see you again?" Nicky asked Galina softly, as Marka moved away to make her call.

Galina smiled. "I hope so," she replied. "Maybe you can come over for lunch sometime next week?"

"Okay," Nicky whispered back. She shrugged Galina's jacket off her shoulders and handed it to her.

"Next time you're upset, just call me," Galina suggested. "I'll give my number to your mother, and you know where I live now."

"Paolo is on his way back," Marka informed them, stepping back into the circle. "Not the way we hoped to celebrate our engagement but at least it all turned out okay in the end. Nicky, go inside and change into some dry clothes."

Nicky didn't hesitate to throw herself into the red-haired woman's arms and hug her like she had known her for ages. Galina hugged her back and Nicky bit back a smile when she felt her kiss the side of her head too. Nicky couldn't remember the last time anyone had ever hugged her in such a way.

"I can't thank you enough," Marka said, as the two women watched Nicky make her way up the steps to the front door of her home. "It makes me sick to think of what could have happened if you weren't there."

"Just hug her a little tighter tonight and be glad you don't have to worry about that," Galina suggested. "It's okay now."

"I'm not a bad mother," Marka said defensively. "I know this looks bad, but I honestly had no idea she had even left the house. Last I checked, she was in her room watching television."

"One time I lost track of my son at the zoo," Galina confessed. "It was the scariest five minutes of my life. These things can happen."

"Yeah," Marka sniffled. She was still standing underneath her umbrella, although the rain finally seemed to be letting up.

Galina tucked a wet strand of hair behind her ear and stepped back to her own car. "I better get going back to my own kids," she said, "but I wanted to leave my number with you for Nicky." She reached in her purse and pulled out a small notepad and a pen. She scribbled out her phone number and handed it to Marka.

"I told her that I'd have her over for lunch next week, if it's alright with you," Galina said. "I have three sons all around her age."

"That's nice of you," Marka said faintly. If she thought this desire was odd, she gave no indication.

"I'll make sure she gets it," she promised, pocketing the piece of paper inside her robe. "Can I give you something for tonight? Gas money at the least."

"Not at all," Galina shook her head. "I was glad to help and I hope everything works out."

The two women bid one another goodnight, and Galina wished Marka congratulations for her engagement. She didn't know enough about anything to judge anyone, but her heart broke for Nicky and the obvious estrangement that existed between the beautiful girl and her mother. She didn't understand how her father could just walk away, or how a mother could be so out of touch with how her own child was feeling. She hoped they'd find a way to resolve these differences. Although she had only just met her, Galina wanted nothing more than to see Nicky happy.


End file.
